This book is dedicated to an analysis and synthesis of research on strategy and school leadership, with the ultimate goal of suggesting a new research programme. Each chapter takes up this challenge through different means, resulting in an overview of the construct of strategy within the practice of school leadership. It is hoped that each of these chapters encourages students, practitioners and scholars to continue to investigate this important topic and to undertake the methodological challenges set out to advance our understanding of strategy and school leadership in managerialist times. Despite maintain a primarily scholarly focus – as such a focus is exceedingly important for the advancement of any domain of inquiry – it is also recognised that many of the ideas discussed have profound practical significance for schools and those who lead and manage them. The arguments in this book, particularly those in the latter chapters seek to expand the horizons of scholarship and understanding on the topic of strategy and school leadership. Although this should not be interpreted as a prescriptive call for how further inquiry should be undertaken, it is but one voice in the conversation. The reviews, studies, analysis and proposed research programme of this book argue that the strategies of school leaders are of considerable theoretical and practical importance to schools, the governance of schooling and the behaviour and performance of schools. While this book offers a blueprint for further inquiry, it remains for the reader to accept the challenge. Doing so will enable important new insights into strategy and school leadership.

Hoyle and Wallace illustrate with penetrating insight the perverse outcome of tightening management and leadership so much that it leads to three different forms, each with the same five characteristics, of what they call "managerialism": excessive micromanagement of schools in a sometimes futile and self-defeating quest for success′ - Tim Brighouse, Times Educational Supplement `This book is an excellent read about management and leadership in schools. Overall, I felt that this book makes a positive contribution to the debate about the impact of managerialism within public services. I liked the elements that made up the ironic orientation (scepticism, pragmatism and contingency), recognising them in my own experiences in Higher Education, and I liked the way in which the concept of irony was linked to some key concerns as well as positive practices. This is a book that I would thoroughly recommend to anyone interested in leadership and management in schools, but given its broader application, I would also recommend the book to anyone interested in leadership and management in the public sector′ - ESCalate Read the full review as posted on the ESCalate website, the Education Subject Centre for the Higher Education Academy ′Eric Hoyle and Mike Wallace are two of the best known writers on educational leadership and management. They have made very significant contributions to organisational theory and its application to education for four decades. This book′s focus on ambiguity and irony provides a welcome and timely contrast to the rational assumptions and managerialism which underpin government policy and much academic writing in this field′ - Professor Tony Bush, International Educational Leadership Centre, University of Lincoln ′They have brought to centre-stage ideas and concepts which have largely been peripheral in the field, and in doing so have made us look with new lenses at what we need to say about professional work and identity. It has therefore performed a valuable and much needed service, and will provide a major reference point in debates about the future of the education profession′ - Mike Bottery, Educational Management, Administration & Leadership ′This in an important book. I wish I had written it, indeed I wish I had the skill, the knowledge and the wit to write it′ - Mark Brundrett, Educational Management, Administration & Leadership Why do efforts to improve the quality of education via organizational leadership and management make matters worse in some respects as well as better? In what ways are education professionals responding to such efforts? The authors of this highly original book develop an ironic perspective for analysing the ambiguities and unintended consequences of well-intentioned actions in organizational life, and how these are exacerbated by change. Focusing on school leadership and management, Hoyle and Wallace suggest that major reforms have had limited success because the changes introduced have diverted school staff from their core task of promoting student learning, resulting in dissatisfaction, frustration and stress. They argue that a more temperate approach to leadership and management supported by wise policy-making can create structures that take the strain and reduce stress, encourage autonomy while accepting associated risks, and sponsor moderate experimentation and innovation emerging from communities of professional practice. Educational Leadership and Organizational Irony is essential reading for all concerned with improving education: advanced course students, leaders and managers, trainers, administrators, policy-makers and academics. It also offers insights for the study of public service and business organizations.

With this significant new work, Larry Cuban provides a unique and insightful perspective on the bridging of the long-standing and well-known gap between teachers and administrators. Drawing on the literature of the field as well as personal experience, Cuban recognizes the enduring structural relationship within school organizations inherited by teachers, principals, and superintendents, and calls for a renewal of their sense of common purpose regarding the role of schooling in a democratic society. Cuban analyzes the dominant images (moral and technical), roles (instructional, managerial, and political), and contexts (classroom, school, and district) within which teachers, principals, and superintendents have worked over the last century. He concludes that when these powerful images and roles are wedded to the structural conditions in which schooling occurs, "managerial behavior" results, thus narrowing the potential for more thoughtful, effective, and appropriate leadership. Cuban then turns to consider this situation with respect to the contemporary movement for school reform, identifying significant concerns both for policymakers and practitioners. This honest, thought-provoking book by a leading scholar, writer, and practitioner in the field represents an invaluable resource—an insightful introduction for those just entering the field and a fresh, new perspective for those long-familiar with its complexities. Cuban's ethnographic approach to the development of his own career and viewpoint, as well as his highly readable style, make this a work of lasting value.

`The Third Edition of an excellent book and is usefully updated to include the greater significance of the global contest of management, and in particular Tony Bush has consciously updated reference material. This, like all Tony Bush′s work, is an essential reading for students following higher degree courses in the area of management studies in education, and increasingly those social policy students on higher degrees with an education option′ - John L Doyle, The International Journal of Educational Management In summary, this book makes an excellent contribution to the current debate on Management and Leadership from a theoretical point of view. It provides an important resource for many aspects of management and leadership development programmes at a variety of levels. Its ability to draw upon international perspectives along with examples beyond conventional educational parameters enhances its quality. The book contains a well documented account of how leadership has been studied which will appeal both to the academic reader, and to the professional provider of CPD in leadership, offering a wealth of information that can be practically adopted and adapted for a range of courses′ - British Journal In-Service Education In this established bestselling text (previous title Theories of Educational Management), Tony Bush presents the major theories of educational management and links them to contemporary policy and practice. This fully revised Third Edition includes two important changes in content. First, the book takes account of the increasing interest in the concept of leadership. Leadership continues to be one of the major criteria used to differentiate the models but there are now explicit links between educational management theories and the main models of leadership. The second change is that, in this edition, the author applies the models to a range of international contexts, including both developed and developing countries. This change relates to global interest in concepts of leadership and management and to an increasing recognition of the need to customize theory and practice to each context and culture rather that adopting a `one size fits all′ approach. This text is essential reading for students of educational leadership and management as well as for headteachers and managers in education.

′This is a very good and much needed book. Written by a very experienced researcher and teacher in the education leadership world it brings together a wealth of understanding and insights in the field of leadership and management development in education′ - International Journal of Educational Management ′[T]his book is an excellent survey of practice on a truly international scale which many will find valuable′ - Educational Management Administration and Leadership ′Few people could be better qualified to write about this topic than Tony Bush. The book draws on a wealth of experience and detailed research. Typically, it is extremely well structured, written with great clarity, and combines the highest levels of scholarship with an accessible style that will enable it to appeal to a wide audience. This is a book that many in the field have been waiting for′ - Professor Mark Brundrett, Professor of Educational Research, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool ′This book is far and away the best international comparative study of leadership development for schools. There are countless books highlighting the importance of leadership but none have satisfactorily gone to the heart of the issue, especially for developed and developing countries, and Tony Bush has done it here. It is a sure guide to policymakers, practitioners and researchers who want to make a difference′ - Professor Brian J. Caldwell, Managing Director of Educational Transformations and former Dean of Education at the University of Melbourne, Australia Leadership is critical to educational development and specific preparation is vital if leaders are to maximise their effectiveness. In this major new text, Tony Bush draws on his extensive international experience and research to examine the case for leadership development and assess the different modes of preparation used in Europe, including the U.K., North America, Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Africa. He also examines research on how leadership impacts on school and student outcomes and considers future directions for leadership and management development in education. This text is essential reading for students of educational leadership and management as well as for policy-makers, headteachers and principals.

For academics and students, 'Education Management in Managerialist Times' offers a critical guide to existing educational management texts and makes a strong case for redefining educational management along more socially and politically informed lines.

An Intellectual History of School Leadership Practice and Research presents a detailed and critical account of the ideas that underpin the practice of educational leadership, through drawing on over 20 years of research into those who generate, popularise and use those ideas. It moves from abstracted accounts of knowledge claims based on studying field outputs, towards the biographies and practices of those actively involved in the production and use of field knowledge. The book presents a critical account of the ideas underpinning educational leadership, and engages with those ideas by examining the origins, development and use of conceptual frameworks and models of best practice. It deploys an original approach to the design and composition of an intellectual history, and as such it speaks to a wider audience of scholars who are interested in developing and deploying such approaches in their particular fields.

Pierre Bourdieu was one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. He argued for, and practiced, rigorous and reflexive scholarship, interrogating the inequities and injustices of modern societies. Through a lifetime’s explication of the ways in which schooling both produces and reproduces the status quo, Bourdieu offered a powerful critique and method of analysis of the history of schooling, and of contemporary educational polices and trends. Though frequently used in educational research, Bourdieu’s work has had much less take up in Educational Leadership, Management and Administration. Educational Leadership and Pierre Bourdieu argues that ELMA scholars have much to gain by engaging more thoroughly with his work. The book explains each of the key terms in Bourdieu’s thinking tool kit, showing how the tripartite concepts of field, habitus and capitals offer a way through which to understand the interaction of structure and agency, and the limits on the freedom of an individual – in this case an educational leader – to act. Educational Leadership and Pierre Bourdieu offers an analysis of dominant trends in ELMA research, examining the kinds of questions asked, projects undertaken and methods used. It provides alternative questions and methods based on a Bourdieusian approach, further readings and a range of exemplars of the application of these tools. The book will be of interest to those whose primary focus is the utility of Bourdieu’s social theory.

`This is a useful book and well written reflecting the author's considerable experience in the field' - National School Improvement Network News `Management Skills in Schools is a terrific digest of many important issues, built around a clear structure that helps the reader absorb information quickly. For the sheers scale of the references to educational gurus, it's worth the cover price: here is everything you need to quote' - Geoff Barton, Friday Magazine, Times Educational Supplement `This book provides an invaluable resource for everyone who is concerned with leadership and management in schools. As well as dealing with key issues and concepts it gives practical advice on strategies and techniques which can be deployed. It will enhance and complement existing skills as well as importing new ideas which will provide professional stimulus for the reader' - Sir Geoff Hampton, Dean of Education, Director of the Midlands Leadership Centre, University of Wolverhampton `For the discerning leader wanting to develop their personal management skills this is a "must have" resource. Whether working through Personal Management Skills independently or used as a professional development tool with a group of middle managers in a school this book will make a difference to how leaders work in schools' - Coleen R Jackson, Director, Roehampton Education Leadership Centre University of Surrey Roehampton `This is a timely collection of resources for those in middle management positions in schools. It brings together ideas on self management in addition to a comprehensive collection of materials on leading teams of staff. Particularly noteworthy are the sections on strategic decision making, action research in school improvement, and dealing effectively with conflict' - Brian Fidler, Professor of Education Management, The University of Reading Team leadership is vital element of school success, whether at the level of department, the curriculum area, the key stage, the phase, or in relation to pastoral and leadership teams. The Team leader must be skillful in creating cultures of success, and personal management skills are at the heart of getting the best from team members. In this book Jeff Jones shows how managers in education can contribute to school improvement, and focuses on the essential personal and practical management skills needed to instill a positive team culture, and support colleagues effectively. This book is an essential resource for those who lead and manage teams, at all levels within schools. Dr Jeff Jones has been a senior consultant and head of training and consultancy unit at the Centre for British Teachers CfBT in Reading since 1998, and is the well known author of such books as Monitoring and Evaluation for School Improvement, (2000), and Performance Management for School Improvement (2001)